letter scale
The maker of this large letter scale with the characteristic curved frame is now known to me. When searching the magazine Papierzeitung I found advertisements by Louis Dietrich from Frankfurt. There is also a review of his letter scale in the magazine.
On the adjusting screw are the letters L, D, and F with an asterisk in between. These letters most likely stand for Louis Dietrich from Frankfurt.
Louis Dietrich had the exclusive right to sell the universal letter scale by Ludwig Dielmann from 1885 to 1890, see also this scale marked LUDIE. At the bottom of the page are clippings from the Papierzeitung showing the relationship between Louis Dietrich and Ludwig Dielmann.
The cast iron frame is decorated with floral motifs. At the lower left the scale reads 119, which is presumably the model or product number. Earlier smaller versions have been shown, see here no. 7, no. 8, and maybe this one with the no. 116. Thanks to the folding counterweight, the letter scale has two ranges, 200 and 1000 grams. The measuring scale up to 200g has a stripe per gram. The scale up to 1000g has alternately a short and a long stripe per five grams.
The scale height is no less than 32 cm. The base measures 21 x 15.7 cm. The letter plate is 15.2 cm round.
Below are some more images of this letter scale.
back of the letter scale
